Proposition 131 would add ranked-choice voting to Colorado elections

Proposition 131 would fundamentally change the way many elections are held in Colorado and represent one of the most profound changes to the democratic process in the Centennial State’s 148-year history.

As it stands, Colorado elections generally run the same way as other states: June primaries pit Republicans against Republicans and Democrats against Democrats. A single winner from each party advances to the general election, where they are compared to all unaffiliated or third-party candidates who appear on the ballot. Voters select their preferred candidates and the candidate with the most votes wins.

This ballot measure would upend that system with a broader push for open primaries and ranked-choice voting at the national level.

The measure is supported by Denver millionaire Kent Thiry, the former CEO of dialysis giant DaVita, as well as Unite America, a national group he co-chairs, and a small group of similarly wealthy donors.

It is an initiative placed on the ballot, and because it would change state law, passage of the measure requires a simple majority on the Nov. 5 ballot.

What would Proposition 131 do if passed?

Prop. 131 would change elections for the state legislature, state offices — governor, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state, the State Board of Education and the University of Colorado Board of Regents — as well as the state races for Colorado’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives -Senate.

The measure would do two main things for this election. First, it would replace the state’s current primary system with a single open primary system in each affected race. This means that all candidates, regardless of party, would compete against each other in a primary. For example, five Democrats, three Republicans, a Green and a Libertarian could run for governor, all on the same ballot – and all would be considered by voters with or without political affiliation.

The top four vote-getters from this primary would then advance to the general election, again regardless of party. (If only two or three people participated in the primary, they would all advance.)

This is where the second amendment comes in: Prop. 131 would establish a ranked-choice voting system in which voters in the general election would rank each candidate in a particular race by preference.

If no candidate achieves a majority in the first vote, the candidate with the fewest top positions is eliminated. Any ballot where that candidate was the first choice then automatically switches to that voter’s next highest ranked candidate and the tabulation begins again. It continues in rounds until one candidate receives the majority of active votes.

If there are three or four candidates in the general election, voters don’t have to rank them all; They can only achieve as much rank as they want. However, there is a risk that their ballot will become inactive if all candidates on their ranked list are eliminated as their votes cannot be reallocated.

When would election changes take effect?

Answering this question is more difficult than you think. The ballot measure states that the reforms would take effect on January 1, 2026. But a late change to the law this year — quietly inserted into a broader election bill at the end of the regular session in May — now requires 12 counties to use ranked-choice voting before it can take effect for statewide or federal races.

It is unclear whether and when this requirement will be met.

Gov. Jared Polis, who was apparently unaware of the change at the time the bill was passed, nevertheless signed the broader bill in June after the change received media attention. But he told lawmakers that if voters approved Prop. 131, he would issue an executive order to convene lawmakers and stakeholders to develop an implementation process. His stated goal is to ensure the changes take effect by the 2028 election cycle.

That would still be two years later than the ballot measure calls for and would mean the new system would not be in effect for major races in 2026, including the first open gubernatorial race since 2018.

What do supporters say?

Proponents of the measure see it as a comprehensive balm for a range of ills plaguing American elections. They argue that an open primary system would allow voters of all kinds a more direct say in selecting candidates for the general election, particularly in places like Denver, where a party’s primary now generally determines who wins the November general election.

They also contend that ranked-choice voting, the second part of the measure, would give voters in all districts the opportunity to influence the winner while increasing the chances that the eventual winner will have a majority and be a consensus decision .

Proponents also argue that the reforms would increase civility because candidates from different parties would have an incentive to appeal to voters of all stripes; increase voter turnout as races would be contested more frequently; and improve candidate diversity by eliminating the fear of “spoiler” candidates.